An end turns to a new beginning...

Shaking, creaking, explosions, all sensations Corporal McArthy was too used to. Unfortunately, right now, he was dealing with all three at once.

He stumbled through the sparking doorway leading to the drop pods, where he knew his team was. Last he checked, anyway. At the moment, the Frigate they were on was desperately trying to escape the Covenant. That last hit shook the ship hard, he barely stopped himself from slamming into the wall and getting knocked out. Other crew members around him weren't so lucky. And now, he was just making sure his team was still conscious as well.

He gripped the wall as he moved forward, feeling the rumbling quake throughout the entire ship. McArthy had been fighting long enough to be used to a rumbling ship, but the feeling was still giving him the need to vomit.

He finally reached the main center, then he stumbled onto one of the pods, leaning against it for a moment to take a breath. He looked up to see his Sergeant, Kenzie, gripping the center table, her expression was one of pure terror. Not an expression McArthy was used to seeing on her.

She noticed McArthy leaning on the drop pod, then she yelled out, "McArthy! What the Hell did the Captain say!?"

McArthy stayed silent for a moment, forcing himself to swallow vomit that had tried to rush out of him, then he yelled, "We're barely making it out of the atmosphere! We're the only ship left, and the Covies are right on our tail! Where's Belle and Mark?"

Before Kenzie could answer him, the ship violently shook again. This time, it sent McArthy flying right into the drop pods he was leaning on, then he saw something that made his vomit come up again. He watched Mark's corpse basically fly across the room, striking a console set on the wall before slumping limply in a corner.

McArthy cried out to Mark pointlessly. Kenzie started yelling at him, but he couldn't hear her. He was too busy staring at Mark. He was like McArthy's surrogate father, and now McArthy had to stare at his corpse. He didn't even get to die in a fight, instead of that, he was killed by the crude force of his body slamming into the walls.

As he stared, he heard something loudly hiss around him. McArthy's hearing came back as his tunnel vision on Mark went away, then he heard Kenzie yell, "Get out of the pod!"

McArthy spun his head to her, but it was too late. He watched as the pod's door slammed shut in front, making him yell in surprise. He didn't know what was happening, then he whipped his head forward to the glass and looked out. Kenzie had run up to the pod and was now slamming on the door, trying to pry it open, terror and desperation painted on her face.

McArthy turned his head from her and looked into the room behind her. He suddenly realized what was happening. The console Mark's body struck was now sparking wildly, the same one that controlled all the drop pods.

McArthy's heart dropped as he stared at the malfunctioning console, knowing exactly what was about to happen. He pulled his helmet off his head, then looked back at Kenzie, who was still trying to open the door. It was no use.

The ship shook violently once again, making Kenzie jolt backward, barely catching herself on the table. The drop pod McArthy was trapped in swayed back, dangling over open space.

McArthy was forced into his seat as his pod shook violently along with the ship. He put his helmet back on his head, then watched as Kenzie struggled to her feet, almost reaching out at the pod. Then, in the blink of an eye, it was all gone.

McArthy watched in horror as his pod plummeted downwards, racing towards the planet below. He leaned forward and stared upward, trying to see the ship above him. A few other pods had fallen with him, and once they moved out of his sight, he saw the Frigate. It looked beat to Hell, and it had multiple Covenant ships tailing it, firing endlessly.

Tears were running down his face as he watched the ship go, knowing he was being left behind. He was going to die, while they got to escape. McArthy took a deep breath, trying to be rid of his tears. At least that meant the rest of his squad escaped. At least they got to…

His thoughts were interrupted as the sounds of a booming explosion filled his ears and shook his falling pod. McArthy threw his head up again, only to watch in horror as the Frigate was engulfed in flames and blew apart.

He was lost for words, tears streaming down his face even more now as he stared at the ship. He didn't if he could say anything, he was simply heartbroken. The ship then disappeared above thick clouds. He sagged back into his seat, feeling his body go limp.

He completely forgot where he was and what was happening, then as his pod crashed into the ground below and he jolted like never before. McArthy yelled as he felt his shoulder jolt and ache, then the door in front of him flew off.

McArthy didn't even know if he wanted to step out of his pod. He looked forward to seeing the lightly snow-covered ground in front of him, the loose forest ahead of him. He could see it now, it was starting to snow.

McArthy could feel tears again, not tears of sadness, but tears of frustration. He was stuck fighting on this planet for three months, and now, just as he was about to escape it, he was trapped on this damned planet once again.

He threw the bottom of his fist into the wall of his pod, then yelled and jumped out. He spun around and kicked the side of the pod, only accomplishing in hurting himself.

He grabbed a hold of his boot in pain, then groaned and said, "Fucking… mother fucking… I can't…"

He yelled, standing up and throwing his fist into the pod. He grabbed his hand in pain, then slowly felt the frustration run dry, only for overwhelming depression to hit him. He lowered himself and sat against the pod, holding his hand and beginning to shutter. He tried to hold back as best he could, not wanting to break out crying. What would his team think of him if he just broke down like that?

Mark would probably try to comfort him, Belle would call him a pussy, and Kenzie would watch him with discomfort from a distance. She was never the emotional type, and she would always prefer to avoid making things worse.

McArthy even let out a small chuckle between tears as he thought about it. Oh his team. They were his best friends, but now they're gone. So is the rest of the crew, so is any chance of him getting off this planet, he was alone. For all he knew, he might be the last human alive on the planet, maybe even the whole damn system.

McArthy softly rubbed his hand, then let out a long breath. Sitting and crying wasn't going to help him, right now, McArthy needed to ensure he was at least safe before he could think about the rest of his life.

He slowly rose to his feet, deeply sighing and brushing off the snow that had softly settled on his helmet and shoulders as he sat. He strolled back to the front of the pod, then peeked into it to see if there was anything in it.

A stroke of luck, there was a silenced SMG and silenced pistol latched into the weapon caches. McArthy let out a breath of relief as he looked at them, at least he wasn't totally defenseless. He grabbed the weapons, placing them on both of his thigh pieces, then checked for ammunition. He only had a few mags for either, and the only rations he had was whatever had been stored in his small backpack.

Once McArthy strapped the ammunition to himself, he detached the small sack and swung it around to check what he actually had. There were only a few MRE's, a jug of water, and a small medpack. That was it.

McArthy let out almost a whimper at the thought. This was all he had for what he could only describe as the rest of his foreseeable future. He weakly lowered the sack, then looked up desperately. All that was ahead of him was the forest. To make things worse, the snow was starting to get worse.

"Great. This is my life. Bear Grills in this bitch, except on top of wild animals, torturous nature, and low supplies, I also have to deal with alien invaders equipped with weapons that can melt me in seconds."

McArthy was talking to himself again. But, he was alone, so he had no choice. It was the only way he could lighten the mood at all. He could give up, what really was the point? But, he knew why he couldn't. He knew his team, and given what happened, and where he was now, nothing would make them more proud than knowing he spent the rest of his life being an annoying pain in the ass to the Covenant left on this planet.

He swung the sack back onto his back, tightened the straps, and checked the pod one last time to make sure he didn't miss a single thing. He took a step backward and looked at the pod, letting out a deep breath. In a certain way, this malfunctioning pod saved his life, whether he would've preferred to die with the rest of his squad or not is a question he'll have to answer later. Right now, all he could do was move forward and survive.

McArthy nodded his head, then turned around and said, "Into the unknown I go. I should get a journal for this."

After a few seconds of staring into the snowy forest, he began moving forward, with one thought in mind. He needed shelter, badly.